BlockBeats report: On April 26, following the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on April 25, U.S. President Trump has now publicly experienced at least four attempted shootings or assassinations targeting him personally. A comprehensive summary is provided below:
First incident: On June 18, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Twenty-year-old British man Michael Sanford attempted to seize a police officer's firearm to carry out an assassination at a Trump campaign rally; he was subdued on the spot without any shots being fired. He was later sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and deported.
Second incident: On July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight rounds from an AR-15 rifle from a rooftop approximately 130–160 yards away from the rally site, grazing former President Trump’s right ear and killing one rally attendee while seriously injuring two others; the shooter was immediately killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper. This marked the first time since President Reagan’s 1981 assassination attempt that a sitting or former U.S. president was injured in an assassination attempt. Following the incident, then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned.
Third incident: On September 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. While playing golf at his own country club, former President Trump was targeted by 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, who hid in bushes approximately 300–500 yards away with a rifle. Secret Service agents spotted him and fired warning shots, prompting the gunman to abandon his weapon and flee before he could fire; he was later arrested. In September 2025, a federal jury found Routh guilty of multiple charges, including attempted assassination of a presidential candidate.
Fourth incident: On April 25, 2026, at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., five to eight gunshots were heard near the main magnetometer security checkpoint outside the banquet hall during Trump’s first attendance at the event as president. Trump, Vice President Vance, First Lady Melania, and cabinet members were urgently evacuated, all unharmed. One Secret Service agent was shot but suffered no serious injuries due to wearing a bulletproof vest. The suspect, armed with a shotgun and a handgun, has been arrested; identity and motive remain undisclosed. The dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days.
In the four incidents, Trump was only grazed by shrapnel during the July 2024 Butler incident; he was unharmed in the other three. All three of the latter incidents occurred within the scope of Secret Service protection, prompting repeated reviews of U.S. Secret Service security protocols. Media outlets such as the BBC have previously described such events as part of a new “normal” of political violence in the United States.